Review on Jay's "Ye Hui Mei" on the Straits Times, 8th August

[catseyes]

Also putting out his first album on a new label is Taiwan's Jay Chou. Out since last Thursday, his Yeh Hui-Mei on Sony is practically sold out at most outlets islandwide, with 25,000 copies snapped up in a mere five days.

Sales aside, his latest output is somewhat disappointing.

More, as they say, is less, so the computer game- and manga-inspired imagery and sound samples, which also characterised his past three albums, are starting to sound yawningly predictable.

While some critics say Chou is at his most experimental to date, others feel that Yeh Hui-Mei is his least distinctive work yet.

A break may be what the boy wonder of Chinese R&B needs to regain his originality.

After all, the world does not need an Asian version of Linkin Park, whose influence is evident on rap-rock numbers Coward and Double Sabre.

Nor should it give Chou any credit for attempting radio-friendly, adult-oriented rock on Clear Day and Her Eyelashes.

And is it too much to ask him to steer clear of his mumbly David Tao mimicry, most audible on You Can Hear and Cliff Of Love? While Chou went home empty-handed after last Saturday's Golden Melody Awards in Taipei, eVonne Hsu walked away with the Best Newcomer prize.

Send your comments to stlife@sph.com.sg

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I just saw this review in the papers in the morning...What do you think of the comment?

[ene]

Everyone's entitled to their opinions and honestly, as fans of Jay, it's hard not to show favouritism.

My personal opinion is, the writer is actually quite right when he (she?) spoke about the Linkin Park-sounding tracks. Personally, I listened to Nuo Fu and Shuang Dao about 2 times each and skip past them most of the time. I am a fan of Linkin Park and heavy-rock sounds but I don't want Jay to actually sound like Linkin Park.

I'm a sucker for songs like Clear Day (Qing Tian) and Her Eyelashes (Ta De Jie Mao) so I can't fault Jay for writing such radio-friendly songs that appeal to the mainsteamers.

One can argue that Jay is turning mainstream, but hey, aren't we the mainstreamers ? I'm not pretending to be some arty-farty, can only appreciate 'deep' music type. I just like the songs for how they sound, their lyrics, the arrangements etc. And I guess if they come from Jay, I don't fault it. Call be bias, but I am still a fan of his music.

However, having said that, should there come a day when he writes rubbish, I will then stop supporting him. I support good music and not because he's cool/cute/diao/etc. No doubt that these add to his appeal, but ultimately, it's THE MUSIC that I like.

[sUm^MeR]

Well said ene. :thumbsup:

Well, it's just some personal opinion from someone who might or might not be Jay's follower. What I mean by Jay's follower is those who listen to Jay's music and understand every bit of messages and cinematic atmosphere that Jay's offering. True to be said that he might sound like Linkin Park in some of his new songs. But anyway... I take it as Jay is experimenting with himself in music sense.

This is what expecting-too-much ends up with. People tends to just look at "what's missing?" instead of "what's new?" Jay hasn't lost its originality. Some songs still have that Jay style. What's wrong with trying out new things? Why do people tend to easily stereotype musicians, jumping into conclusion that if he tries new things means he losts his originality or being a sellout?

Let's not look for "what's missing" but just view the music in general. The sound of it, the melody, the new instruments. Does everybody even compliment of Jay's improvement on writing lyrics for social issues? NO!! All they ask is, "What's wrong with him. He sounded like Linkin Park wannabes?"

Read the lyrics first then judge. Every song has their own soul. And the soul of the song is in the lyric. And when you read the lyric... THINK! Is this song has a reason to sound like this?

Well, anyway... everybody is entitled to their own opinions. Critics are good. It yields improvements. Some people like the album, some people don't. But like what ene said, as long as Jay's songs is pleasing to my ear, I won't stop listening and buying his album.

[jim]

Let forget about Linkin Park, or can we aska questions of, WHO THE HELL CAN THINK OF GETTING A LITTLE GIRL TO RAP IN THE SONG?Nor Linking PArk, Nor Eminem. this will reveal the doubts and fault thot of jay following Linkin Park. Yah, the rock is like em, but to be fair enough, like summer said, read the lyrics.

[Ziwei]

More, as they say, is less, so the computer game- and manga-inspired imagery and sound samples, which also characterised his past three albums, are starting to sound yawningly predictable.

i am actually a bit pissed by the comments when i read it this morning. (that i dont feel like typing it out here ><)

why are all the comments about the same whenever he released his new album. its the same thing... like all his music are predictable, why he cant stop mumbling, and that his songs are living behind the shadows of David Tao... :dry:

they are not just sound samples, even if they are, they are wonderfully used differently in all his 3 albums. all his albums songs ARE different, and i dont ever feel they are that predictable, as they had stated them to be. esp his new song, In Father's Name, it's simply a wonderful song. and its definitely something new, is it not? no other singers can produce such songs. only Jay can make such nice sound samples to match the lyrics and the melodies.

i dont see any similarities in Jay's and David's music either.

fyi, this ablum is rated 4 out of 5 stars. :happy:

[ene]

jim : I am not faulting Jay for writing songs that sound like LP. I am a huge fan of his new album and think it's awesome. I'm just saying that it's natural for first timers / non-fans to think of LP the moment they hear the 2 songs mentioned.

And like I said in my post, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. No need to get worked up lah :wink2:

If one doesn't like the album, don't listen to it. Don't buy his albums. No one says EVERYONE in this world has to love Jay, right ? You win some, you lose some.

And I personally don't like David Tao.

[beckkeong]

errr. jim.. actually i think missy elliot has a song with a little girl rapping..

anyway.. i cannot deny that i feel slighty the same way as the article.. he does need a break .. or at least sometime to further refine..this album seems slightly rushed..

one thing.. why is he being compared to david tao? that tao feller is a jackass la..

i have been a jay fan since the first album.. but i still believe that nuo fu and shuang dao got its influences from its western rappers/rock bands..

IT could be that he is trying too hard to break the american market.. he said that he wanted to himself..

[w4t3r_lily]

well..i think it's only the personal opinion from someone who knows nothing about Jay's music..probably that person only hear the album once and then write the opinion..still for me..Jay new album is one of the great album

[rou]

i think it's just e arrangment part in "nuo fu"... well jay also listens to other pple's music his music can be influenced as well but i think he has still managed to keep his style like wad jim said, who else would get a little girl to rap in his songs?

[beckkeong]

well..i think it's only the personal opinion from someone who knows nothing about Jay's music..probably that person only hear the album once and then write the opinion..still for me..Jay new album is one of the great album

thats a good point!.. the writer is probably cluless abt all his other works.. or baised.. :)

[hisashi]

Just had to say this, all are well said. Living in Tao's shadow? No. Coz Taio's music is more americanised and I think he sound like american RnB. But both are into rock music which is fresh in Asia. As many have said, not many can accept hardcore rock stuff especially when it comes from Jay who has released pure RnB and strange stuff. Another point is many would have higher expectation of Jay. 4 out of 5? Not too bad. Am waiting for the one in 8 days. Last year, I saw 8D's review and Milan's blacksmith was the only 'good' one. So I can't see why anyone doesn't like this album! :happy:

[sUm^MeR]

Eeeh, I just listen to Shuang Dao, and it's totally different with LP style.

Do u guys pay attention....Jay's style.... he always includes traditional Chinese instruments as the filler.

David doesn't do this. Linkin Park doesn't do this. So please.... don't just hear how it sounds generally. But LISTEN to all the SOUND in his music. Almost every song of him has the "chinese" feel to it. Jay is the only one who can mix the Western and Eastern music and sounds amazing. That's his magic. :) And that's also his STYLE. :wink2:

[Miss_gun]

Frankly, I don't agree with that comment at all.
Just like what u people say..read the lyrics b4 you say anything.
PLEASE!!!!!
Sometimes..I gotta ingore all this comments.
Everyone's point of view is diff.

I don't understand sometimes. Is everyone asking too much from him? If He continue the same style, ppl say his album is BORING, NO BREAKTHROUGH.
Then now, he changed his style and came out with something diff, then PPL say he lost his style!!
OMg..What do you want then? Jay is a human, not a god. :bleh:
His latest album is totally meaningful and better than the other singers' ones.
The lyrics for 'ti tian' and 'nuo fu' is so meaningful. He wrote something that reflect the dark site of the society! He wrote what he think of! How many singer nowadays actually care about that?
Does it really matter if the tune, melody sound like Linkin Park? He is just expressing what he thought of! I don't really get it.
If you think Jay's album is not good enough, or you think you can do better than him, ok...Why don't you try and produce album? and let us think what we think of. :)

[dUck2409]

Who is this stupid reporter who wrote the article?
It's really a big insult to jay..
Asian version of Linkin Park? I dun think so.. Jay is not rapping like them.. neither is his style of music like them..
Heck abt the article.. Jay is original himself.

[petheads]

fyi, this ablum is rated 4 out of 5 stars. :happy:

I read the review after looking at the stars given. It's funny how the music critic (I seriously doubt if he qualifies as one though) gave Jay the most number of stars out of the 4 albums he reviewed and yet gave such a bad review of the album. Anthony Wong whom he says is "an ace performer and easily one of Hong Kong's best" got only 3 stars for his album that is "a darkly delicious atmospheric electronic outing". Contradictory stars, isn't it?

Actually I try not to read reviews of albums that I like since the chances of my agreeing full heartedly with the reviewer is slim and I will end up :ranting: . I think it's a difficult thing to do - to review unbiasedly. I have read many reviews by people who absolutely do not understand the genre of music they are critiquing or just plain dislike the artiste. And I find that most Singapore reviewers just follow what their overseas counterparts say. No originality at all. It's just so predictable, especially when it comes to the movies. Any award nominee would definitely get a 5 star rating. that's so dumb.

[dazzlette]

to be honest i was a lil pissed off when i read the review this morning in the papers.. partly i agree with what the writer with what he says about clear skies and her eyelashes.. nevertheless i really like these songs cos above all they sound good.. 'nuff said.. and i think that the writer has obviously overlooked the plus points in the album (or just didn't mantion them in the review).. like jay's creativity in yi fu zhi ming and dong feng po.. it's interesting that despite all the critisisms he still gave the album 4 out of 5 stars.. which was the highest aomong all the albums reviewed.. (and he even praised other albums in the review) i suppose it's because the album is jay's so everyone expects higher in terms of music and creativity.. even if it still sounds good..

anyway another note.. i've been reading reviews by this writer often and he usually doesn't have nice things to say about jay anyway.. when he reviews other albums he would mention jay sometimes but in a rather unflattering light.. so while we are biased he is biased too..

[JayJay]

I believe that everyone has a right to their own opinion, but this is a "review". And this review is certainly bias( well i guess it even my bais opinion in favour of jay). But as a formal review, the reviewer should at least try to be as objective as possible.

you can sense that the reviewer is joining the "jay dissing spree" that seems to happen a lot lately. I agree in some of the reviewer point about coward sounding like linkin park, but certainly no double blade. As much as i like the catchy melody of coward, i just don't like the idea of jay trying to be linkin park(i know this is not a very fair statement, but the song just reminds me too much of linkin park).

You can diss, but the reviewer seems to shut him/her self completely from other songs (i believe masterpieces) like in the name of the father , 3rd year 2nd class etc which is so jay yet so different. Being critical is okay, but must also be open and fair.

[fal_the_one]

there's room for improvement if there is critisism.. if not, he wun hav another new album..

[Pei fong]

Hi, i'm new member.
i bought jay newest cd and it cost RM58 in malaysia. i like it so much and jay is so handsome.

---
Hey, come on. Jay is the best. No one can insult him and i think he is the best. Not everyone can sing like him. At first, i was quite dissapointed with his newest album, but later on, i found out his newest album is very nice and have his own characteristic.

PeiFong, you had just double-posted.
That is not allowed. Please take note.
~mUShy

[elle]

i am disappointed with this review on his latest album.

yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions...but this is a newspaper article. somehow it would affect the public. The media is so powerful...if im not a jay chou's fan, i would tend to be influenced by their comments..and not buy the album.

and what is the big fuss abt david tao? he is so ugly.

[khim]

this is his own oppinion, at least we dun think jay's album in his way....

or maybe we just BOOM his email account to defend jay!!! JK :)

i love his new album!!!

[annaitako]

well...
although the writer is just giving his/her opinion and everyone is free to talk..
but the writer is also neglecting that different people has different taste..
if the writer thinks that jay's work is not as good as expected..
well just too bad becoz i thknk he has done a wonderful job..
loving and liking music isn't watever the writer describe..
instead i feel every album of jay is a change of his type of music
he is just attempting more and more type of different instuments and style..

what does the writer mean by "orginality"?
and what about "Sales aside, his latest output is somewhat disappointing."???
who says it is?
how many times has he listened to the album?
what is considered "good music"?
unfortunately, there are no standards to these..
if there are these kinda standards, then there only one type of music. same kind over and over again..

in another words, i am kinda disappointed to read this article..
it shows how shallow his thinking is..

[*SkyLark*]

Straits Times Life reviewers always condemn popular artistes for the sake of condemning them. Maybe this bright chap here decided to denounce Jay just because he is so popular and has nothing to lose anyway, judging by his brisk (and may I add very brisk) record sales. Anyways, noticed how he verbally abused the album, and how high the rating (four out of five stars) was? Goes to show that he does not dare be true to his words... Loser. :dry:

But I agree that nuo fu and shuang dao do sound like Linkin Park's trademark heavy metal. That's what I thought when I first listened to the album. I enjoy such genre, so I'm fine with both songs. As for the commercial value of qing tian and ta de jie mao, if they appeal to us, then they are GOOD.

Jay's music is still 100% original, in my opinion. So heck cares about some baloney reviewer...! :bleh:

[june]

well personally, i think that the asians are not the targeted audiences for this album.
i think jay's company wants to expand his music out of asia.
besides, i think jay wants to try something new.
he has 3 albums which is rather same somehow.
therefore, he has to do something new to attract more ppl to listen to him.

by the way, i also think that jay has his permanent fans in asia.
i mean, he already has loads of loyal fans in asia.
so, he is not afraid abt changing his music styles will effect his fans from not buying ye hui mei.

as a conclusion, i do think that jay is quite daring and risky.
if ye hui mei dont sell like hotcakes, jay's reputation will definately drop.

but the truth is ye hui mei is selling like hotcakes now!!!! LoL ^_^
In taiwan, i heard that ye hui mei was sold 1,000,000 copies on the 1st day it released!!!!
whhheeeeeeeeeee heeeeee :yeah:

well, i think the fans need time to accept this album.
soon, they will love it.

[Chun Li]

Hi, i'm new member.
i bought jay newest cd and it cost RM58 in malaysia. i like it so much and jay is so handsome.


hahahahhha.

~~
Anyways, I find Jay more creative with his choice of instruments than David Tao. I like both of them. David's music just sounds really American to me... and since I don't even listen to American music that much, I'm much more interested in Jay's songs. Yesterday I jumped and landed wrong and hurt my leg.

[meaniebeanie]

Maybe the reporter is just trying to gain attention,
(like how we r discussing abt him NOW!)
though for the wrong purpose!!!!!

Anyway i agree w wad SkyLark had said. they condemn ppl for the sake of condeming so lame yahz :bigyuck:
let us not be so bothered by this report and continue listening to ye hui mei!

Let us each do our part by spreading our gd reviews on the album to others
Unity is the key to success!!!

[Ice]

I was quite pissed offed too, but curious why they sait until it was so " lousy" but still gave a high rating for the album. :? Isn't it weird? But I truly agrees with what they say. No offence) :dry: But there's 1 thing I sure is that Linkin Park and David Tao will not use as many music instruments as Jay. :laughing:

[cici bebe]

Ah well Jay is by far the best artist in Taiwan (a fact, not opinion!) so who cares about a few mindless comments from a reviewer. Even the best is bound to get criticized.

[dreayh]

Whoops..I just posted out the same thing ;p forgive me guys!
Anyways, we have to realize that not everyone thinks the same as us, not everyone has the same views on things. So just unfortunately the reviewer happens to not like Jay's album.
For me, this album is such an improvement from the 8th dimension, a wider range of sounds, (I simply love the tribal like music in Terraced Fields and East Wind Breaks!)
Of course, there are some songs that are alike because that's Jay's style, thats what he like..so why not critise the other pop singers who always sings pop? Right? That's absurd!
Peace out...

[sUm^MeR]

I hope I don't sound too overprotective, but I give so many listen to the songs that the reviewer protested and I conclude what had been Jay's characteristics aside from his style of music (RnB/HipHop).

Jay's characteristics:
1. He includes rap/slow rap that he derived from the chorus (An Hao, Kai Bu Liao Ko)
2. He uses many kind of instruments layering one another (mostly violin, cello, orchestra)
3. He uses sound effect often (Including the sound of DJ's playing out with Disc)
4. He overlap his rap and singing in the chorus (Jolin's Knight's spirit)
5. He overlaps different kind of melody of his voice. (like in Dui Bu Qi)
6. He uses Chinese instruments just to create an atmosphere. (Long Quan)
7. He ends his song in a tight way... like suddenly stop. (Ke Ai Nu Ren, Coco's Dao Ma Dan)
8. In the bridge... he makes a cinematic atmosphere by creating different melody/using different instruments, using sound effect, as if creating a "break/sudden interuption" from the song. (Piano sound in Shuang Jie Gun, Fighting sound in Ren Zhe, The various Europian sound in Jolin's Square of Prague, The sound of Elephant in Jolin's Knight Spirit)

And the ones that the reviewer has a problem with.
1. Nou Fu = It has no. 1, 2, 4, 5
2. Qing Tian = 1, 2, 7
3. Shuang Dao = 4, 6, 3, 2, 8
4. Ta de Jie Mao = 1, 2

The only hard thing for me to find for Jay's characteristics is Ta de Jie Mao. I have to agree, after listening to it for so many million of times... I have to say... Ta de Jie Mao is the most distinct one than most of Jay's song. It's different style than his usual. But others... I still can see Jay's characteristic.

Still I see no problem for trying out new things as long as it still sound amazingly sweet and good. I agree with *SkyLark* that since Jay's famous and good... he was set higher standard than other singer. Therefore the review might not sound good, but still overall he was given 4/5, which is good!!! :yeah:

[jjfgirl]

personally, i'd rank this cd as one of my favorites. maybe it is a little more mainstream, but i don't see why he has to continue to be "original" if people like his songs the way they are. not sure. critics will be critics though, and that's why i don't bother reading reviews on anything. they have to keep their jobs somehow?

[x_tina]

i didn't find the review all that bad. but the reviewer clearly doesn't have a clue as to what he's talking about. every song in this review was pretty much insulted yet the album got 4 stars. he didn't even try to explain why he made the comments he said.

he obviously has no creditals in music by saying jay has lost originality or saying that he's impersonating david tao. i find david tao simplistic.... his r&b is very americanized and sometimes soulful. however, it's predicatable. jay uses so many overlaps of music instruments, sound effects and his lyrics are just unique. this reviewer just spoke melody-wise about jay's album but failed to mention about the maturity and originality of his lyrics.

and his comment about the world not needing an asian version of linkin park... he only did one song that sounded like them... he's not becoming them. if he came out with a whole album like them then we'll talk... but we needn't worry over one song. jay's experimenting with different sounds and genre of music, i don't see very many artists breaking out of their mold, breaking out of their "safe haven" to grow and develop as artists.

perhaps he just listened to the album once. the more spins the better it sounds.
but this album was really over-hyped i thought. this had to be the most anticipated album of the summer so everyone was expecting to be really impressed.

[ankh]

I don't understand sometimes. Is everyone asking too much from him? If He continue the same style, ppl say his album is BORING, NO BREAKTHROUGH.
Then now, he changed his style and came out with something diff, then PPL say he lost his style!!

that was wat i said to my friend who read out the review to me. ppl expects too much from him. and he has already said that he will continue with his style. so wat they want from him? change totally into another genre of music... den ppl will start saying he's too vaired, no distinction to his music, tries too hard to be different etc.

and i don't agree that jay's under david's shadow. just because they do R&B and rock doesn't mean they're copying each other! den why doesn't anyone say that david's copying jay? just cos he started out earlier den jay? the media likes to compare too much. take for instance, christina vs britney. jus cos they were from te mickey mouse club, but that doesn't mean they do the same type of music. they're way miles apart!

and jay is just trying out new genres. rock is rock. wat's wrong with experimenting? i was most irritated by the phrase "yawningly predictable"! that's most unfair to say that. jay did try out many different music mixing in this album, just that probably the reviewer did not bother to listen. there's a lot of different layers to jay's songs, he overlaps different melodies in each song so you'll get the overall feel. that's why i can listen to his album all the time and never get bored.

the reviewer contradicts himself. the review is all nothing but negative pts abt ye hui mei and yet the album receives 4/5. i'm not gonna bother abt a shabby review where the reviewer didn't even do his homework properly.

[babyxv]

and what is the big fuss abt david tao? he is so ugly.

so what if he's ugly? he's still talented.

i guess critics are unbiased and review everything based on first impressions. for all we know, the guy gave the review after listening to the album once, then gave it 4/5 stars a few days later, after listening to it more o_O

[m o n k e e]

jeez dun bash david tao haha...

deres no point going crazy ova one review.. its his opinion and we shold respect that even tho most of wat hes saying doesnt relli add up.. 4 out of 5? after basicially grinding it in da dirt?
i guess dis guy is jus a jaded reviewer sick of no talent popstars, and is bit flustered to see sum1 so popular, yet so creative. he cant deny its a good album tho. sounds like hes not very in tune with taiwanese music (most 'credible' asian reviewers tend to adore foreign artist and dismiss talent at home), so he compares jay with david tao, coz basically dats all he noes... o well.. no point crying bout it

[la moochacha]

i actually think that the new album is the best one so far!! right after i got it, i couldn't stop listening to the cd; all of the songs are great! about the Coward and Double Blade songs..there is a little similarity between these and Linkin Park songs--but i only noticed that after i read this article.. i think the author of this article is being too harsh on Jay!

[en_en]

i had already gotten use to and expected something along the lines of his old stuff. so this album was somewhat of a shocker. it isnt bad at all, its just different, and something i would definitley listen to, but i just cant get use to the fact that this is jays...yet.

as for the resemblence with LP and Jay...i cant seem to hear it. Maybe the way they mixed the two type of music together, but as for the singing and the more rock part, i cant seem to hear it.

[gracecherry]

well, i strongly agree that everyone has different perspective of looking at things, and from different perpective, comes different opinions and analysis. TRUE......no one is force to like jay or appreciate his music, TRUE, that even such talented musical genius like jay.....are entitle to critics because even he is NOT perfect. BUT......let us not forget that, jay treats his music as his life.......he is not the type who will rush while producing his album to fulfill market needs just because he is so in demand now. he is NOT the type who will just write something that sounds acceptable because of time confinement, and just let the album be launch just for the sake of finishing in time of the dateline the company given him.
Seriously , anyone else here besides 'beckkeong'.......thinks that jay needs a break and dont rush himself preparing something that isnt up to standard, (standard in different definations to different individuals i mean) ?? i m just speaking from a very neutral point here, no meaning to be harsh or whatsoever, pure discussion. having such feeling of jay rushing himself in production, and in doing so fail to enable his own styles to be outstanding resulting in so called following some other artists trends......having such feelings indirectly meant that, jay is decreasing in his own creativity, he is trying to include special determining styles of other trend setters like LP. am i rite? or wrong? i cant say for sure, all i know is that, jay has been trying to be more creative, in this new album, trying to show that his musical talents and writing abilities are not only limited to asian styles or his self founded styles at the very beginning, all he is doing is being versatile, combining some western elements into the asian music, some new like track 2, some more ancient like track 1...... so its pretty clear that he is putting more effort into music collaboration, he is trying to show that music is too large a field, and limiting to just a region is simply not looking far enough, jay is trying to let us see that music can be brought to a higher standard by combining different elements......and increases its diversity. let's ask , has any individual asian artist created works like LP sound a like in the past?? which has elements from LP but also including elements of his own??? jay has done so in track 2......and its not called imitating, or copying or whatsoever......its just creating something NEW, which is inspired by something already available. thats a way, for improvement. i dont deny that many of the songs this time has lots of influences from western music, jay already said in advance that this time will be different coz he will be combining various musical elements.
As for the article saying that jay's works has been 'yawningly predictable'.....oh that , dont sounds to make any sense for me, what bout u all???? coz, the style in ye hui mei never was in any of jay's previous 3 albums.......its a very fresh album , fresh creations......jay is never predictable , i m impressed of him by songs like 'qing tian'.....it has rock elements but a rhythm of its own as well.
Another sad thing, is most reviews on jay's new albums each time its out, is never too much to be prasied, its like everyone has taken for granted for the chinese R&B king to be so high standard in each of his works.......if only the normal , relax, casual rhythm is produced , then it would be said that his works this time is a disspointment. And.....since no one is force to appreaciate jay;s music as the fans does......then the writer of the review of NST has no right either to call his album a DISSAPOINTMENT.......because, the writer has no basis when making statements like this, he is only saying from his own personal point , since he definitely wont be a jay fan as the way he wrote the review.......he shouldnt criticise till such low standard, a GOOD review writer, will review the on all the sides, be it improvement or not m


uch creativity or below expectation.....one cannot only focus on the 'below expectation' aspect......coz when a new piece of music is produce, there will some parts where it clearly shows imrpovement and otherwise in other aspects.
i really agree with summer and ziwei in their opinions.

[beckkeong]

wei.. i've certainly taken a bashing eh?

well i dunno.. maybe we are all taking this too seriously.. cos i dun really agree with "critical" analysis of jay's album as some of you have given..

therefore i will say this in reply to the last post..

if you set high standards for yourself and others .. you are expected to keep those standards.. that at least seems to be the opinion of the media and critics.. i dun think jay should release an album if its substandard.


and with quote from the last reply "(standard in different definations to different individuals i mean) ??" .. does this mean that one should settle for less just because it already seems high to him or herself?

i still feel that with the inclusion of the "western tracks" .. he is clearly trying to take a shot at the western market..

also.. i've decided all this banter abt his new album is going nowhere... lets just enjoy the music with our ears and hearts...

:)

[jim]

sorry for any offended. But the album is really great. i think we will not ever to get a fair reporter.... anyway, its great.

[badenv84]

i believe jay has his own idol like we do...
he's just making music he likes and sharing it with us... gd or bad... experimenting or not...

ultimately, when u turn on the radio or hear a familiar song when u walk pass a cd store...

you know

no doubt

its Jay
=)

[Nereid89]

i can only say tht the reviewer obviously didnt hear jay's new album more than twice... jay's song haf a weird pull tht u will only get when u hear his songs over and over again..then u will start to like it...not like any other songers when u will get tired of his/her songs after listenin to it over and over again... :bleh:

and tht reviewer had the guts to say 'sales aside'??? i say sales is the best measurement of an album...

[squirtle23]

Has anyone heard any hokkien (taiwanese idalect) versus in his new album...? i thought it was gonna be his trademark to have a little hokkien in his albums...... :dry:

[gracecherry]

hi , beckkeong, perhaps its true that discussions about this review on jays album and also the clear critics from the NST review writer is not going anywhere coz its up to each individual as to whether they like the album or not, its matters most to each individual so there is no need for us to debate on whether this is a good album or not, BUT BUT......since u said that jay does need a break to refine this album of his, meaning u think its sort of like produce out of rush.......then i hope that u too would be able to listen to this album of his with your heart and ears like u said in your previous post. enjoy listening.......i hope u understand the i m not trying pin point on any of your opinions.

[abra16]

when someone get too popular,. there will always be ppl who are out to shoot him down. waiting to see him fall and then say, haha, there he is, it's just luck that he gets up there. it's just the trend.

i think jay is just being true to himself and doing what he like. i write, so actually i think it's easy to be influenced by the people whose works we admire.

critics always like to criticise singers will talents(wonder what is their motive? to push them harder?so there will be better work?), but forgot to add their comments to those who do pop music, plain pop, churning out albums after albums for money.

[sHaziE]

Jay's album is GREAT!!!!

sometimes ppl view things in different ways.. but who cares rite, as long as fans love his songs, buy his album, that's all matters...

these writers always like that.. ask him to write songs lah, can't even compose then wanna critise Jay.. :-x

[budeylicious]

i kinda agree w/ the reviewer that some of jay's new stuff songs like linkin park and david tao, but i think it also shows the versatility in his voice. like certain people can only sing one style of music, but very few can do such variety. jay does pop, hip hop, r&b, rock, alternative, and he incorpates international sounds and everyday sounds, so it's pretty cool. the critic has a right to their opinion but i think it sucks that he/she only pointed out the stuff they didn't like about the album. like i think "in the name of the father" is a really unique piece of music that deserves more credit.

[jayster]

This is what expecting-too-much ends up with. People tends to just look at "what's missing?" instead of "what's new?" Jay hasn't lost its originality. Some songs still have that Jay style. What's wrong with trying out new things?
.

I couldn't agree more.

In the risk of sounding like a bias, die-hard and ardent fan of the man-himself (in which I am), i am very irked :crazy: by the way "mainstream" reporters write their reviews these days!! Seems that every star who has gained momentum as a credible singer/actor will get his/her share of tongue-lashing and media bashing. No one can be "a musical phenomenon" or "talented singer" for long because if he/she does, the reporters will run out of "creative constructive critisism: to write. I know this because I graduate from Journalism school. Most mainstream reporters are given credit when they do not write what's expected, or whats "mainstream".

Having said all that, one may argue that they are entitled to their own opinion. but I've listened to his latest album (was there before the store opened), My friends who are mostly non-Jay fans listen to jay as well and the all agreed that it's one of the best albums to buy this year.. They love David Tao and so do I... and we all agreed to this: NO, JAY SOUND NOTHING LIKE DAVID. Both equally good but David lacks the appeal, Jay's more creative whilst David makes and sings more mature and serious songs. Ultimately, Jay's better. Sorry, I just had to say that.

My point being:With Jay's ever-rising status as a phenomenal star, some people won't like it. The mainstream can mold you up into the star-la creme, they can whip you down to nothing; as we witnessed with the case of Jay. They used to love our darling-boy but now he's too good, too talented for their comfort, and it's unbelievable. the media can't let one person dominate the market... This year's GMA is the proof!!! he won and won previously, this year... I can't help but to wonder if it's their intention at saying that "There you go Jay, this is to punish you for receiving too many awards last year and for being a good artist"

[QS]

:dry: if the writer is gonna say jay's music is predictable, y doesn't he/she just say ALL music is predictable. All artists have their favorite style and obviously they would stick to the style they like best or whatever keeps them on the charts. If u listen to a song, then listen to another song with the same style there's bound to be similarities. truthfully, i don't see anything unpredictable in any other artist's music, this writer has just gone a bit overboard with his/her comments. yes he/she is entitled an opinion but when he/she says something that not only applies to one person but many people and make it seem like it only applies to that one person, it just bugs me. it doesn't matter if it is directed towards jay, even if it is directed towards another artist it would bug me.

[gracecherry]

actually what truly bothers me about the review is that, we could never know how huge a impact it could result to the public or pple who doestn know who is jay, pple who has just heard about him as the rising star but doesnt anymore than that.....so when they read about reviews like such , it will in a way or another inluence the way they think, perhaps they might think......urgh, oh, this young guy doesnt seem to be as good as we thought, coz the review was undeniably condeming..........it didnt even state a postive aspect about jays album, so .......i m just afraid that pple will be easily influence........of course it wouldnt matter much to pple like us, who just like jay;s music for how it is.............so, the impact is there if such reviews are on papers especially on papers like NST.......

[vivien]

honestly speaking, i was a bit disappointed with this album. all the songs just sound copied from somewhere with some slight changes made to it. he's a talented musician, but has he reached the tip of his talent with nowhere else to go but down? when he first started out, ppl didn'r expect much from him, thus they were impressed with his works. but now he has to live up to his reputation of a music genius, ppl's expectations are definately higher. singapore's lin jun jie's new album is good, but only becouse he's a newcomer, if he doesn'tmake some kind of breakthrough, ppl will get bored and turn to other newer artiste.

applying this logic to jay, all i can say is that had this been a first album for a newcomer, it would have received lots of praise from critics. i wonder why critics like to dismiss so-called mainstream songs. after all, singers are here to make a living, if their song appeal to a great mass of public, isn't that great? so why are main-stream and radio-friendly songs considered low-class? it's not easy to write a hit, and all the song-writers are fighting to write songs that'll get the most radio airplay, aka radio friendly songs. does that reporter likes songs that are original and refreshing, but totally horrible and rubbish? just get a 5-year-old to bang on the piano and he'll get wat he wants, definately original material.

songs are radio-friendly because they are NICE, and a lot of ppl LIKE them.

[ashley]

applying this logic to jay, all i can say is that had this been a first album for a newcomer, it would have received lots of praise from critics.

Don't hate me - but if Ye Hui Mei was his debut album, I wouldn't be very impressed. And I'd probably not have been that obsessed with Jay, since like you said, most of the songs sounded 'mainstream' anyway.

There is no single "killer" song that was able to move me like Black Humour and Can't Speak did.

[beckkeong]

hmmm ashley..

not too sure abt whether that;s true.. cos i feel that maybe he chose the first song to market wrongly.. maybe if qing tien or ni ting de dao was made the first single.. things may be different

[vivien]

because Yi Fu Zhi Ming is such a hard song to beat, listeners expecting better songs in the album will be disappointed. easily the best song in the album, YFZM set too high a standard for the album. whereas i hte past, songs like long quan feng and kai bu liao kou are only average songs in the album, the whoopers are hei se you mo and an jing, thus ppl are impressed with the album. i think maybe he chose the wrong song too.

[gracecherry]

well, after listening to different opinions from u all, and how each of us hav different views at jay, i start to really understand why jay kept saying that he felt the pressure on him rather high at most times, just becoz he came up his compositions like 'black humour' and 'kai bu liao ko'......it gave everyone an impression that he is a real talented young guy, so much inspirations in him waiting to be expressed out in his albums, but pple changed , and jay as he go along the path of making music will also change, he wouldnt wanna keep writing the same sort of song, with hardly any new elements inserted in, and inspiration comes from things he sees and absord and observe, so if he went to somewhere and observe some different culture and lifestyle then......his source of inspiration is different then the music that is produce is also different, and this is how creativity comes about. so for ppl who prefers his earlier works might not like what he came up with now, and there are somewho likes what he came up with now.....more than his previuos works. so, its rather difficult for him to fulfill everyone's expectation.......as long as he feels that the compostion has a certain level of standard then he will just go ahead. yeah, what vivien said is perhaps true.....that whats wrong with radio friendly songs.....they are sweet and relaxing melodies......and jay is always known for being versatile so his albums mostly is varied.....so that it could cater to most pples expectations.....he would put some radio friendly songs in it, some of his very own style....some more rich in newly absord foreign elements like u all said the LP sound a like....then some more oriental and instrumental...like dong feng bo.....so, i guess, varying in a few styles would be a good option. and it shows that jay is not only cater for a certain limited style.......if only he wants, he could produce works that we didnt expected him to .

[cacky]

Gosh, there just have been too many comments posted in here and I feel sorry for myself for only replying to this subject way too late. Didn't really have the patience to read through all the posts. To look at this article which this reviewer wrote about the album, I can totally say that he/she is being biased. :realmad:

There's no positive comments about this album at all, from the article! To be a good critic requires the reviewer to be objective. I honestly disagree that Jay's current album is 'yawningly predictable'. :rasp:

Jay's merely keeping his style of music, doing what he's good at. In fact, he's probably one of those few Chinese singers who can portray Chinese music so well that even the Americans are so in awe of. Unlike David Tao and Lee-Hom, who are American-Born Chinese, for Jay who was born and bred in Taiwan to be inspired to do such music is commendable! :thumbsup:

The critic went on to say "A break may be what the boy wonder of Chinese R&B needs to regain his originality." Hmmmm ... ... isn't that very contradictory to 'yawningly predictable'? Jay's kept to his originality all this while is precisely why Jay's style never changed. :nocommen:

And 'attempting radio-friendly' ??? I most certainly think that with Jay's talent and with proven records of his previous album, there isn't even a need for him to 'attempt'! What's wrong with producing songs for the mass-audience, as long as they are pleasant to the ears?
:profanit:

That's what producing music is about right? This writer is so obviously biased against Jay Chou music. So, :shutup:

[shai^cello]

No worries there...cuz reviewist always sez things like dat. being one, know one. The hardcore sound really kinda surprising but for me since Jay always do sth that makes the song worth hearing, it's not a big thing. the important thing is he makes his own song and he'singing his own tune and he knows how he wanted his songs to be. Being a singer-songwriter and have million of copies worldwide is more important than one review. anyway, i think Jay knows what to do to improve, rite?

[phoebe]

ashley - how can you say there's no " killer " song - yi fu zhi ming is one kind of a killer song! who would put all those stuff into one song - i LOVE that song. if there's only that one song is will still buy that album .